Hampton Arts is celebrating its 30th Anniversary Birthday Gala this month with a performance by musical actress and Tony Award-nominee, Marin Mazzie.
The Broadway actress and singer is a supporter of local art centers, she said. Local art centers were her first exposure to theater.
“That’s how I started out in the business,” Mazzie said. “Growing up in Rockford, Illinois – a relatively small town – I started taking theater classes at the YMCA when I was 8. We had a lot of community theater. Those were some of the first shows I ever saw.”
Hampton Arts’ 30th anniversary reflects a deep local well of support for the arts, Mazzie said.
“I just know how difficult funding for the arts is, especially these days,” Mazzie said. “So, the fact that this theater has been around for 30 years, it’s a testament to the support and the people in the community – I think it’s just great.”
The City of Hampton formed the Hampton Commission of the Arts, or Hampton Arts, in 1987 to support development of artist and cultural awareness in the city. The Hampton Arts Foundation was created in 1994 to raise funds for and support Hampton Arts.
“If you think about the size of Hampton and the size of the city budget, and understand that the city, then and now, has committed to the performing and visual arts as a priority, that’s impressive,” said Richard Parison, artistic director for Hampton Arts.
In 1989, the city was building a new library, and Hampton Arts saw a use for the old one. So the 1925 Charles H. Taylor Memorial Library was converted into the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center and gallery.
The Hampton Arts Foundation acquired the 1908 historic American theater in 1997, and took on a $2.9 million restoration on the abandoned theater over the next three years. The current American Theater at 125 E. Mellen St. reopened June 7, 2000, according to the Hampton Arts website.
Since that time, the theater has put on 40 to 50 performances a year, and the gallery has exhibited eight to nine shows a year, Parison said.
Both spaces have hosted many local artists, musicians and performers as well national performers.
“For 30 years, we’ve provided a really strong quality of life, we’ve become an important part of the citizens’ lives,” Parison said. “The theater is why we get up every day and we come to work, because we want to impact people’s lives.”
James Warwick Jones, who’s been the manager of the Taylor Arts Center gallery for the past 12 years, said the center is a hub for Tidewater artists. The arts are important because they give people a voice and expand people’s point of view, he said.
“I think it (art) broadens your view of the world,” Jones said.
Jones has worked in the gallery for more than a decade. He is also an artist and began submitting his work to the gallery when it opened. To him, the arts provide an outlet for people to share their ideas.
“It’s our life, the arts center; bringing the best art we can to people and helping them learn more about it.”
Parison said Hampton Arts is aiming to expand youth services in the area. The organization will begin a program this fall that will send artists into Hampton City High Schools to add to the art courses.
The 30th anniversary gala featuring Mazzie is 8 p.m. Sept. 30 at The American Theater, 125 E. Mellen St.
Smith can be reached by phone at 757-510-1663 or on Twitter @hillarysmith21.
